A Bleached Hollow
by KillJoy-Soviet1
Summary: William Oxfod-Laws gets banished from his family by his parents because he fought for the revoultion. Now moving to Japan, he enrolls at Karakura High, soon joining up with Ichigo and his friends. Will's completely normal, with the exception that he can see souls and has a burning hatred at a single Soul Reaper...
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello! If you're reading this, it means that you've just chose to read this Bleach fanfic! There are many flashbacks in this, to explain just what the main character went through. But before you do that, I might suggest reading my other story first, cuz it explains something's that this one doesn't. So here we are, here we go, and please, don't throw up.**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'**Hollow Speech**'

**[Demonic Voice]**

(Flashback! /Person View Change/Timeskip)

~ Radio Chatter ~

"_Other Languages_"

"_Stressed Words_"

'_Written Words_'

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Bleach, only my OCs.**

* * *

_Number 27 of Murphy's Military Laws: 'When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.'_

* * *

Chapter One: Warm Welcome Much?

"C'mon Kira! Run! Not much further!"

"Will… I don't think… I can-"

The gunshot echo rang throughout the city streets as she hit the ground, a pool of blood forming under her.

"Kira? NO! KIRAAA!"

* * *

A gasp emanated from the lips of a teenage boy as slate grey eyes shot open. The teen reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow, and the eyes swiveled in their skull. The teen shook his head to clear it from the cobwebs.

'Where am I again?' he asked he looked at the person next to him, 'Right, I was, on an airplane heading to… My new home…' At this, he turned sad, and depressed, remembering just why he was here.

* * *

(Minesing, Canada, January 12th, 2013)

"What the hell do you mean, disowned!?" the same teen yelled, his anger directed at an older man whom held himself with an aristocratic air. In the background stood the teen's brothers and twin sister, however, only one of his brother and his twin held sad looks in their eyes.

"Exactly that my son," the man said calmly, "It has come to my attention that while you did change the course of Canada's history by partaking in the civil war, our family's name will be forever tarnished if anyone found out that you did fight. That is why I told all of you not to fight in this meddlesome affair, yet, you purposely chose to IGNORE ME! THAT, WILLIAM, IS WHY I DISOWN YOU!" His father finished, spittle flying from his mouth in rage.

Will's face had a look of pure rage on it when his father had finished, and he reached into his jacket, pulling out a Colt M1911/A1and he pointed it at his father. "Fine," he ground out, "But if you ever, _ever_, ask me to come back here. Don't expect me to, and if I do, I'll be carrying your death." With that, Will turned, and exited the room, leaving his twin sister and the youngest brother silently crying at the loss of a family member.

* * *

Will sighed as he followed the clamber out of the Boeing 747, and entered the main terminal, carrying a large guitar case in his right hand. He was standing at 5'6, and was wearing an olive drab dress shirt with a white tee shirt under it, along with a pair of woodland camo cargo pants and red Converse. He was also wearing a red fingerless glove on his left hand, showing that his middle finger on that hand was cut down to the first knuckle. Using that hand, he brushed a strand of his dark forest green hair out of his eyes. Sighing to himself once more, he was about to sit down when he heard a familiar voice call out.

"Master William!"

Will's head swiveled to see an aged man whom had barely any hair walking to him. He put down his guitar case as a happy grin formed on his face. "Woodsworth! What're you doing here?" He asked as he hugged the butler.

"Er, Masters Jonathan and Alexandra asked me to help you with your luggage, and no worries sir, all of your things are at your new apartment."

Will smiled, "Tell them my thanks, I'll try and write to everyone."

Woodsworth nodded and handed Will a slip of paper. "Your new address sir."

Will patted the old man on the back, "You can't call me that anymore my friend. And thank you, for what you've done." And with that, the two parted ways, Woodsworth heading into the terminal, Will to the garage. While he was walking however, he glanced at the paper as he headed towards a 1942 Harley Davidson, in olive drab paint.

'Karakura Prefect? Where have I heard that before?' Will thought as he sat down on the bike's seat. 'Ah well, I'll think about it later.'

He turned on the bike, and tore out of the parking lot, and headed south-west.

* * *

(April 7th, 2012, British Columbia, Canada)

I opened my eyes and tried not to cry. The pain, oh gods the pain! I don't know how this happened, but I was here, and the voices! The screams of pain that echoed through the dark hallways that adorn this… hellhole, were either crying, or dying. But I was neither. Not yet. I will not die in some mother-fucking god-forsaken SHITHOLE!

Shaking my head from the thoughts that plagued my mind, I glanced around. The room I was in was coated in dry blood, and I was shackled to a chair. Multiple torture devices lay around me, coated as well. More pain was coming from my left hand, and I nearly cried at what I saw. My middle finger, cut down to the first knuckle. Before I could check for anymore wounds on myself, I heard someone walking down the hall to my cell. The door opened to reveal an aged man, 6'0, graying hair, steel-like blue eyes, wearing a government uniform. Anymore of my thoughts however, were stopped. Red numbers, a multitude of them, started to filter through the air around me and the interrogator.

'**Kravchenko**…' My head swiveled as the man came closer. Whose voice was that? '**Kravchenko**… **Must die**.' The numbers began whirling and twirling around me, as this man, Kravchenko, pulled out a small knife, and attempted to stab me. Before he could however, I was overcome by an inhuman rage, and I grabbed the blade from his hand, stabbing it through his throat. Kravchenko fell to the ground as I wrenched the blade from his throat and stabbed him through the temple. The rage left me as he died, and I looked at my unbound hands in bewilderment. How'd the bindings come undone? I looked back at the chair which held me, and was amazed at what I saw.

The bindings were torn as if a vicious animal ripped them apart, but the most amazing thing was that there was a blood stained ushanka sitting just above where my head was. The ushanka had a Soviet star on it, but the star had a single slash through the middle. I picked it up, put it on my head, and escaped.

'**Thank you**… **William**…'

* * *

Will finally came to a stop outside of his new apartment, overlooking _Tsubakidai Park_. He turned the bike off, and grabbed his guitar case, before heading up the stairwell. 'Why am I seeing the numbers again?' he asked himself in his head, as the glowing numbers flittered around, 'It's been a long time since I last saw them, not since Vancouver.' Sighing to himself, he didn't see an orange haired female who was carrying a large bag of groceries coming in the same direction as him, until the two of them bumped into each other, ripping Will from the numbers, and pulling the girl back down to earth.

"Oh crap," Will said as he reached down to grab an orange that fell out of the girl's grocery bag. "So sorry about that, here you go."

He handed the fallen fruit and managed to get a good look at her. She had vibrant orange hair which fell down to her shoulders and was held by two flower hair pins, doe-like brown eyes, and was wearing a high school student's uniform, which consisted of a skirt, high socks, high heels, a white dress shirt, and a sweater vest. Will averted his gaze from her chest area, where she had a very ample breast size.

"Ah, thanks." She said, her angelic voice soothing Will's ears. "Sorry for bumping into you, my friends say I tend not to pay attention to much."

"It's not a problem, really," Will said; as he shook his head to rid himself of the numbers, "Besides, I wasn't really paying attention either." He added while grinning sheepishly. "Ah. Where are my manners, William Oxford. Newest resident of…" Will reached into his pocket and read the room number of his apartment, "Room 9B."

The girl smiled, and bowed, "Pleasure to meet you William-san, my name is Inoue Orihime. Room 9B huh?" She asked as they began to climb the stairwell to the second floor, "I was wondering what that elderly man was doing with all those boxes. So you must be my new neighbor!" She finished with a gasp.

Will chuckled at her expression as they came to a stop on the third floor, "I guess so, I guess so… Anyways, I'll be seeing you later Miss Inoue, and don't hesitate to call if you need something." With that, Will gave her a polite bow, and entered his apartment. The apartment was styling a 1960s' feel to it, due to the furniture and appliances being retro. The flooring was forest green shag carpeting, and a plasma screen 3D TV was mounted on the wall opposite of the purple couch and coffee table. He noticed that a large stack of bills sitting on the table in the kitchen area, as the kitchen and den were built together. He set down his guitar case on the couch and poked his head into the bedroom, where a King-sized bed was, along with all of his clothes in the wardrobe. Smiling to himself, he opened up the guitar case, which showed that there wasn't a guitar in it, but a Thompson M1928/A1 submachine gun in it, along with several twenty-round magazines. Nodding his head, he closed the case and brought it into his bedroom before laying it on the truck at the foot of the bed. Sitting down on the bed, he reached into his shirt to pull out a heart shaped pendulum, and a Colt M1911/A1 with a cobalt-finish. He gazed at the pendent with a sad look, before muttering a single word.

"Kira…"

He put the pendent around his neck and back into his shirt before pulling back the slide of the .45, which showed the full clip in it, and attached a silencer on the end of the barrel, before returning the handgun back into his dress shirt, and stood up. Sighing, he exited his apartment, intending to go for a walk. He made his way to street level, and started in a random direction, the numbers returning once more. Stopping from time to time to look at the stores, or the flowers, he noted that the time had well past sunset, and just as he was about to head home, he heard it.

A scream.

It was a scream so _inhuman_ that it rattled his bones to the very core, and made his skin break out in a cold sweat. He'd heard these kinds of screams before during the civil war, and before he could do anything, the voice returned. Not the one he'd heard for the first time when escaping the hellhole; no, the tiny voice in the back of his head, which shouted just to be heard.

'GET DOWN!' it shouted, and Will complied. An appendage swung over his head, connecting with the side of a car, and Will got to his feet to see what he was up against. In the back of his mind, he wished he hadn't.

The beast was a stark white colour, and stood at 7'6 on its hind legs. Its claws drenched in dried blood from previous kills, and several black veins ran across it. It was wearing a mask made of bone, which resembled a crude attempt at a bears face, and the most distinguished feature was the bowling ball sized hole running straight through its chest. He readied himself as it spoke.

"**Hehehehe… It seems that my dinner tonight can fight back**!" It ground out, its voice sounding like it was half submerged in water, "**That means I will get to toy around with you**!"

Will sneered, "I doubt a mindless beast like you will be able to kill me."

The Hollow, as that was what it was, screamed in anger and charged at Will, as he readied himself and the sidearm, but before the beast could reach him, a flash of orange and black flew in front of him, and the beast screamed in pain. The stranger turned his head at him before asking, "You alright?"

Will grimaced as the hollow charged again, "Yeah, could've handled it myself Shinagami," he said as he motioned to his .45. He pointed the barrel past the Reapers head and pulled the trigger six times, each round making a small thwap! as they hit their target, specifically, the Hollow's skull structure, and destroyed the head, and as the shell casings hit the pavement Will was standing upon, the Hollow disintegrated, its soul ascending unto the heavens. Will bent down and picked up the shells, before pocketing them and turning around to see the Shinagami in an argument with a small girl in a high school uniform, who was yelling at him for almost getting a soul killed. Seeing this, and not wanting to get his memory wiped, William quietly snuck away from the pair, before taking a back alley to his new home.

Entering his apartment, he locked the door and threw his keys on the coffee table, before entering his bedroom and placing his Colt on the end table beside the bed. Quickly shedding his clothes for pajamas, he crawled into bed thinking 'Interesting first day…'

* * *

March 7th, 2010

'_War has gripped this land_,' I wrote, managing some down time after we had freed Toronto, the light from the lamp in the room casting an eerie glow upon the page of my book, '_but slowly, we are freeing it. We've taken Toronto today, our little band of misfits carving it out of the Governments claws. The city itself is in a state of death, and despair; and the people themselves were starved of food and sleep, due to the sound of the shells dropping into buildings and skyscrapers. The CN Tower is pocketed with holes, due to the falling whistlers, and many of the civilians that we found were sheltering themselves in the metro, just like the British did when the French bombed London in 1940. But this time, Sir Winston Churchill isn't giving inspiring speeches to the masses, and the people here were losing hope. This war will take a long time to end, due to us having to cross the whole war torn country to get to Vancouver, and it'll take even longer to rebuild. I cannot believe that just a year ago, Yuki, Yurvon and I were discussing about the night sky's beauty, while stars rained from the heavens. I fear by the end of this war, that we'll lose what little part of humanity we have left._

_ Signed,_

_Lt. William Marcus Keith Oxford-Laws_

_Newly Formed 666__th__ Killjoys_

* * *

The next day greeted William with the alarm clock blaring at his to get out of bed. Begrudgingly, he sat up and turned off the alarm, before slipping into the shower. Once finished, he slipped into the school uniform that Woodsworth had left for him.

'Thanks for taking care of that old friend,' Will thought with a smile, before grabbing his satchel and put his M1911 along with two extra clips in it. Grabbing a can of juice from the teal fridge, Will exited his apartment and walked down the stairs, before breaking out in a run when reaching the bottom, heading the direction of the school. The days of running through marshlands carrying crates of ammunition helped him reach the school with five minutes to spare, so he walked up to the front desk. The lady sitting there appeared to be in her late twenties, and was seated at the main desk area. Smiling at her, Will walked up to her and nodded his head at her.

"Good morning, I'm a new student here, and I just need to figure out where my classes are. My name's William Oxford-Laws by the way." He said politely and calmly. The secretary typed away at her computer before printing and handing him a sheet. He smiled once more and thanked her, before heading upstairs, to room I-16.

Reaching the second floor, he was greeted by the angelic voice of Orihime, whom which was climbing the stairs behind him, along with a black-haired girl. He smiled at the two, before bowing slightly, and speaking.

"Good morning Orihime," he stated calmly, "fancy running into you and your friend. I don't think we've been acquainted miss, name's William Oxford-Laws, pleased to meet'cha." He finished as he stuck his hand at the black-haired girl.

She took it and shook before replying, "Arisawa Tatsuki, nice to meet you too."

Nodding, Will turned in the direction of the class, and motioned for them to follow him. "Soo," he drawled out, "What's to expect when I enter this class?" Tatsuki gave him a look, prompting him to explain, "I mean it's high school. Who do I look out for, you know. The perverts, the nerds et cetera. Give me the low-down. Basic identities, doncha'ya know?" He chuckled at that, thinking back to one of Yurvon's Russian comrades from the Civil War. 'What was his name? Micheal? Mical? Mikhal! That's it!'

Tatsuki shrugged, before replying, "Find out for yourself… We're here."

She opened the door, and William entered scanning the room. 'Hm, Nerd's in that corner,' he thought, looking at the grouping of glasses-wearing bookworms, 'and over there are the normal folk…' His gaze lingered on one black-haired teen, who was conversing with a brunette, and the same orange-haired reaper from the night before. The numbers exploded back into existence, and the classroom faded to a war-torn city, the same black-haired teen now dressed in BDU (i) and was holding an M16A1 in his left hand, talking to two non-descript soldiers.

Shaking his head of the image, Will grinned psychotically, before walking to stand behind the teen, before whistling softly and shouting out, "Incoming!"

Almost instinctively, the teen immediately ducked underneath his table, and covered his head. William laughed at this, causing the teen to stand up and face him, a yell escaping his lips. "What the hell man! What did you… do…?" The teen's eyes widened, before he whispered out.

"Lieutenant?"

i** BDU: Battle Dress Uniform**

**AN: There you go peoples, the revised first chapter! Please read and review! I love feedback!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'**Hollow Speech**'

**[Demonic Voice]**

(_Flashback_! / Timeskip)

~ Radio Chatter ~

"_Other Languages_"

"_Stressed Words_"

'_Written Words_'

AN: Got a little challenge for anyone reading this: "Figure out what the numbers are." You'll get cookies and maybe a guest appearance! Just PM me!

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Bleach, only my OCs. **

Chapter Two: Meeting the Crew

"Lieutenant?"

It was a simple question to Will, but to everyone else, they couldn't understand why Kojima Mizuiro, the quiet acquaintance to Asano Keigo's perverted idiot, had screeched at the top of his lungs when the new guy whistled, and why he uttered a single word in English after turning a deadly pale. Soon afterwards, he snapped his right arm into a Western salute, before yelling out once more.

"Lieutenant Oxford!

Will smiled as he returned the salute, and motioned for Mizuiro to calm down. "_At ease Kojima_, _calm down my friend_. _How long has it been_,_ Hm_? _Three years since I last saw you in Toronto_?_ If I remember correctly_,_ last I saw of you was with your sister and mother as you crossed the Detroit River_." At this point, Will and Mizuiro had both taken a seat in desk adjacent to each other, and the class had huddled around the two, watching in bated breath, and trying to understand just what the heck they were saying in English!

Mizuiro smiled and nodded, "Hai; _that was the last time we saw each other_. _But it kind of pains me that you never wrote my dear friend_."

Will grinned sheepishly at that, and scratched the nape of his neck, "_Well_, _if I remember correctly Kojima_, _the war was still ongoing at that point_, _and you were still recuperating from having that 5.56 round in your right lung_," he finished smugly before he pointed at his throat. "_Still have it_?"

Mizuiro was the one to grin sheepishly now, before reaching around his neck to procure a 5.56 centimeter by 45 millimeter assault rifle round on a necklace. William snatched it from his neck, before admiring the small piece of lead.

It was a regular 5.56 standard NATO, but notched on the side was the words '_HeadHunter_'. The man whom had fired this round was a man by the name of Al'dsh Erikson, an Arabian-Irish mercenary that the Old Canadian Government had employed during the civil war. He was accounted for exactly five-hundred and fifty-six head shots, and forty-five torso shots, and each and every single one of his hand-crafted rifle rounds had '_HeadHunter_' carved in their sides. Mizuiro was one of the lucky kids who got a torso shot delivered to him. Al'dsh had shot him with his custom hunting rifle, and had left him to bleed out.

Mizuiro quickly snatched the necklace back, before switching to Japanese. "So what brings to Karakura anyway William-san? It can't be for a vacation if you're wearing the schools uniform."

Will sighed at this, before answering, "Disowned," he said, "I've been disowned by my father for fighting for my countries freedom."

At this, everyone around them gasped, and a couple of the girls swooned over that fact. Will, as if sensing this change in the females, shivered uncontrollably, and glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.

'What the hell was…? Oh sweet mother o' Death, their eyes are hearts! SAVE ME NUMBERS! Oh, wait…'

He calmed down considerably when Kojima moved on to the next question. "Huh, that's upsetting; I bet Alexandretta and your brother are pissed about that one huh?"

Will chuckled, "Definitely. Both of them were pissed beyond belief, and I'm surprised they didn't kill dad outright. I could tell that Frank was mad though; when I told him, he punched a hole through his bedroom wall, Yuki and the rest of the division all understood what that meant, so that's good news, and luckily, none of the daemon's or _Wehrmacht_ decided to follow. So I've got a fresh, new, clean start here." He finished by leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms with a smirk.

Mizuiro nodded calmly with a smile of his own, before Will got up from his seat.

"Hey, Will-san," he called out, "Ochi-sensei will be here any minute, so you'll have to introduce yourself to the class."

William gave him a thumbs-up and thanked him, just as Ms. Ochi entered the room.

"Alright class! Listen up; we've got a new student coming today so I want you all to be on your best behaviors!" She yelled out, "He's from Canada, so he probably won't know any Japanese so-"

She was cut off when Will politely coughed into his hand, causing her to turn around and spot him. He waved with a quick "Yo!" and walked up to the front of the class. He turned to Ms. Ochi and bowed at the waist before turning to the class and doing the same thing.

"_Guten tag_! My Name is Oxford-Laws William, I hail from a small town called Edenvale, Ontario, and I've spent the last three years of my life with my friends as we fought in the civil war. My favorite things are: saltwater taffy, music and track-running. The things I hate the most are tyrants, murderers and bigots. Dreams for the future… Get back to me on that. That being said; I hope we can all get together and get this class moving!"

He then moved away from the front and took an empty seat, and Ms. Ochi began the lesson.

* * *

(Lunch Break)

When the lunch bell finally rang, I released a sigh of relief. I had accidentally chosen the seat next to a brown-haired teen named Asano Keigo, whom did _not_ shut up throughout the two classes before the bell, and was an incredibly major pervert. He had asked me about what Canada was like before and after the civil war, if he had met any hot babes, how he met Mizuiro, and why I entered the classroom with Orihime and Tatsuki.

I eventually got so tired of him, that I stood up in the middle of the teachers rant at the carrot-top shinagami; whose name was apparently Ichigo, and the girl who accompanied him when they both went after the hollow I felt; grabbed a roll of duct tape from my satchel, and duck taped Asano's mouth shut. Ochi-sensei and several students thanked me for that.

I grabbed my satchel and was preparing to head down to the cafeteria, when I was stopped by Orihime. I politely smiled at her and Tatsuki, whom was standing behind her a bit, "Oh hey Orihime, Tatsuki; I was just on my way down to the cafe. Wanna' join me?"

"Ah, no thanks William-san," Orihime answered, "Tatsuki and I were on way up to the roof to have lunch with our friends, and we were wondering if you'd join us?"

I shrugged. "I've got nothin' better to do, so why not, eh?" I quickly changed my direction and began to follow the two of them to the roof, where I was greeted by the scene of a decently large group of people, sitting down and eating. I recognized at least four, but knew only two. Asano and Mizuiro.

'Oh well, hopefully they could introduce me to everyone…' I thought to myself as Mizuiro waved me over to the group. 'And not freak out when they realize I can see spirits...'

"What's up Mizuiro, Asano," I said with a wave as I opened my satchel to retrieve a thermos filled with my favorite Perk-a-Cola: '_Electric Cherry_'. I took a sip as Keigo gave me a short glare.

"Ah, hello William-san, care to join us?" Mizuiro asked with a smile, to which I returned.

"Sure thing my old friend; but you're introducing me to everyone." I replied as I sat down.

Mizuiro's eyes widened, before he shrugged. "Sure thing William-san. You already know Asano-san, Orihime and Tatsuki." The girls waved while Keigo gave me a glare. "Uh, the orange-haired one is Kurosaki Ichigo, the tall one is Yasutora Sado, but everyone calls him Chad though,"

The tall Mexican with curly brown hair waved, and I nodded back.

"Over there are the girls'; the red-headed lesbian is Honsho Chizuru, the one with black hair and reading is the track star Kunieda Ryo, the curly-haired one is Natsui Mahana, Ogawa Michiru is sick… And the last one is a transfer from Okinawa. Her name is Kuchiki Rukia-"

I gripped my head in pain as the numbers, once more, exploded across my field of vision. I gritted my teeth, not wanting to scream out, as the numbers-

(_I blocked the blade with my own as Yuki was holding his own with three others. I could hear his ragged breath from over here. We've been in enemy territory for about three days now._ )

(_Blocking once more with my knife, I glared at her as blood trickled from the wound I received earlier. The warrior in front of me could be classified as a midget, but I knew better; Gramps taught me better, so I decided to gain an upper hand.)_

(_"You hit like a child!" I yelled as I pushed back with my knife and decked her across the face with my left hand, causing us to disengage our blades._)

(_She spat out blood, I had punched her in the stomach very hard, and grit her teeth. "Shut up Ryoka!" and she lunged at me once more with her blade. She was small, and her skin tone was very light. She had violet coloured eyes that bore into me with great hate. Her hair was a midnight black, with several strands hanging between her eyes. She was wearing the same uniform as the others, the uniform of- #$%^*! *#\|& -which had been shortened so she could wear it._)

(_"Why do you continue to fight us?" I asked, "We're only here for our friend!")_

(_"Because you invaded-_)

William-san!

**WILLIAM**!

I shook my head in pain, and wiped my eyes to rid myself of the sweat that dropped into them. The numbers bled away, revealing the group surrounding me with concerned looks on their faces, and I gulped in a lungful of fresh air. I turned to Kojima.

"Panic attack?" I asked him as I sat up and grabbed my thermos.

He nodded, "It was the numbers again right? What does Vik-"

I cut him off, "No, wasn't him. I haven't seen any more of the numbers since the war ended, but as soon as I got here, I've been assaulted by my past, and by the numbers. Hopefully this won't happen again; and Mizuiro, if it does, knock me out quickly." I groaned slightly and held my head as I stood up, and Kojima was immediately at my side.

"Again!?" He yelled, drawing the attention of the females, and I chuckled.

"_Nyet_, head's in pain because I hit it, remember?" I asked with a deadpan. I chuckled at his expression and waved the girls over before sitting back down. "Uwah. Damn roof…" I muttered in mock anger as I glanced at Rukia. Did she know who I was? I was to find out soon enough, because she walked over to me and stuck out her hand.

"Hello Oxford-san, I'm Kuchiki Rukia, pleasure to meet you." She said with an obviously pained smile. She knew.

I smiled back at her and shook her hand. "Pleasure's all mine Miss Kuchiki."

She turned to sit back down, but I muttered out in English. "_You know who I am, don_'_t you_?"

She froze, and I saw Kojima give me a weird glance before I continued. "_If you seek answers young hunter_, _head unto the dragons_' _den_, _and you shall finally see_." I finished by reciting what I said to her, all those years ago…

* * *

(After-School)

I packed up my bag as Ms. Ochi dismissed the class, and exited the classroom to see Kurosaki and Rukia waiting for me along with Kojima. I sighed in exhaustion, before walking past them and waving my hand for them to follow. I slung my bag over my shoulder as we exited the school grounds, heading in the general direction of my apartment.

"So what is it that you want Rukia?" I asked as pocketed my hands.

"I'm not asking anything with Kojima-san around, no offence." She said calmly.

I stopped and turned to her, glaring. "I've known Kojima for a decent time Rukia, and he knows what to expect from me; so anything you say, I'll say in front of him later on."

She puffed he cheeks in annoyance before asking the question: "What are you doing here Ryoka?"

I shook my head, "I already told you. Disownment, why I'm here in Karakura specifically? Dunno, force higher than myself I guess." I answered truthfully as we turned the corner to my apartment block. "And thanks for the help last night Kurosaki, but seriously, I could've taken care of it myself."

Ichigo sputtered in shock before answering. "That was you!?"

I nodded as I unlocked my door and dropped my bag beside the couch, which they all sat on. I turned to Rukia.

"So what do you really want?" I asked calmly, my arms crossed over themselves in annoyance.

She glared at me. "I want to know why you are here, and what your motives are Ryoka."

"I have a name ya' know." I told her angrily, "And I told you; Disownment and my motives are my own. So unless you want me to whoop-ass on you again like I did last time, I suggest you stop bothering me about it!"

Kojima and Kurosaki looked at me in confusion. "Again?" They asked at the same time.

I sneered, before sitting in a chair across from the couch. "A year and a half ago, one of my friends, Yurvonovich Isshlin Belenski, you know him Kojima; was killed in battle. At that time, the war was almost over, so we were allowed to go after him."

Ichigo looked at Rukia. "'Go after him'?"

"Aye, go after him. As in, go through the gates of heaven itself to find him." I answered, "But of course, Edward screwed up on the location, and we ended up in the gates of Hell first. We traversed its terrain, reaching the ninth level; the King of Hell's domain where we met the Ferryman of the River Styx and the King himself. The King congratulated us for making it all the way there. 'Mere mortals!' he said, 'Mere mortals made it past the succubus hordes, made it past the Defenders of the Gates and literally waltz into my throne room!' We told him why we came, searching for our friend. At this point, the Ferryman, Jim, informed us that he could take us to heaven to rescue our friend. We agreed.

"We arrived in District 3 of the Eastern Rukongai, and quickly made our way towards the Eastern Gate. Maxwell defeated the Guardian in an arm-wrestle, and we were allowed into Soul Society. We made headway in locating Yurvon by acquiring the help of a friend of mine from when I was a child. His name is Alekzander Éclair Overnotch, a Gillian ranked Hollow. He showed us the way to where Yurvon was being held by the shinagami, due to the fact that he 'invaded' the Seireitei, or the Court of Pure Souls. This is where all shinagami reside, so we were proverbially entering the lions' den. After two days on the inside, we were finally discovered by a squad of shinagami and Rukia here. I fought her and promptly defeated her before we grabbed Yurvon from his prison, and got the hell out of Dodge." I finished calmly, my hands in my lap.

Mizuiro's face was shocked beyond belief, and Ichigo was looking from Rukia to me, and back again.

"Wait wait wait," Mizuiro stated after a minute of silence, "You mean to tell me William-san, that the shinagami and souls you talked about in the war are real?"

I nodded, "I told you the truth my friend, it was just up to you to believe it or not."

"What about The Book?" He asked me hesitantly.

"What about it?" I shot back, "I still have it, and it's in my bag. I can give you it if you want to read Mizuiro."

Ah yes, The Book. The Book was a leather-bound, kanji-written tome that my great-grandfather, Marcus Keith Oxford-Laws wrote around one hundred years ago when he was exploring Japan. Within its pages were the contents of the whole entire history of Soul Society; from laws to punishment and from the Central 46 to Zanpakutos and what they were. He presented Gramps with it when Gramps showed him he could see the spiritual realm. From there, Gramps trained in the way of the undead reapers and when I showed the signs, he passed it on to me. That was before he was brutally murdered by the Central 46.

I reached into my bag as Rukia explain to Kojima about the different kinds of spirits, and proceeded to procure the tome. Unbuckling it open, I opened it to the very first entry, dated January 17th, 1913, and began to read aloud.

"'_Within these pages this book contains, I, Marcus Keith Oxford-Laws, have explained every single aspect that I have learnt about the afterlife. This book is meant to be passed down the Oxford-Laws bloodline to those whom have the "Gift"; the ability to see the dead, and those from beyond the veil of this realm. But alas, where to begin neh? I'll start at the beginning I guess. A week before this writing, I had arrived in Japan for a nice vacation away from my family, where I stumbled upon the quiet hamlet of Karakura. I had planned to stay there for a day, before continuing to Tokyo, but trouble seems to follow me everywhere. Prey you don't get my luck from this tome. Where was I? Oh yes, I was exploring the forests around Karakura to see some of the wildlife, when it went quiet. Dead quiet. The birds stopped chirping, animal fled from the direction in front of me, everything was silent. Then I heard it; a scream, a scream so inhuman that it rattled my bones and chilled my soul, a scream that haunts me to this very day. I ran forward, intent on seeing what it was, when I entered a clearing to see a group of people, strangely dressed. Three of them were standing, and were attempting to heal one of the people lying prone on the floor, when they sighted me. Before I could ask what was going on, and if I could help, one of the people lying stood up and charged at me. She was that of a young woman, with lime-green hair, a pink scarf and black robes. But the scariest thing was her face. Her face was covered in bone. She ran at me, a beast possessed, and tried to dropkick me. I held my own against her until she killed me, forcing my soul from my body. It was then, that I realized I was at this person's mercy, but I fought anyway, waiting for the others to help. Help never came. I eventually brought her to a standstill, where one of them knocked her out. He was the strangest yet. Blond hair, eyes hidden behind them, and a grin that gave you the feeling you've been conned out of your soul. He looked at me, reached down and helped to my feet, and said "Guess I've got some explaining to do huh?_'" I finished the passage and looked up to see everyone staring at me, Rukia holding a picture with what appeared to be rabbit hollows on it.

"Your drawing sucks." I proclaimed with a deadpan, pointing to her, and causing her to hit me across the face. Wincing slightly, 'Man, she gives a mean right hook!' I looked at the clock, and noticed the time.

"Hey, it's six, you guys should get going home; we'll continue this talk tomorrow, alright?" I asked as I stretched my back, earning a couple dozen pops.

The three of them nodded and left with goodbyes, and I closed the door behind them. Walking over to the couch, I picked up the tome, rebound it, and gently put it back in my back, before I pulled out my M1911. I entered my room, and promptly let sleep claim me, my grip tightening on the Colts grip.

* * *

I awoke the next morning to my alarm, and I shut it off with a sigh. Rolling out of bed, literally, I hit the floor with a smack! and proceeded to head to the shower. Washing away the sweat and grime from the sleep, I realized that school was cancelled today for that TV show that was all the hype.

"Spiritualist my ass," I groaned as I dried my hair, "Probably doesn't even know what happens if shinagami catch wind of him…"

It had been a week since I arrived at Karakura, and I already had made a decent amount of comrades. We all hung out in one big group on the roof at lunch, sharing stories and what not. The girls shared gossip, the boys what they planned to do after school et cetera. But there was that time I had tried some of Orihime's cooking, even though everyone said not to. She had some leftovers and I had forgotten to bring a lunch, so she gave me some spaghetti with peanut butter sauce, fruit and red bean paste. It was fucking delicious! Everyone was amazed I didn't vomit and/or die from her concoction, but when you live off of Meals-Ready-to-Eat for three and a half years, you'll savour any kind of food.

The ones I had gotten to know the most out of the group however, were Yasutora Sado, the tall and quiet Mexican giant; Asano Keigo, the perverted idiot who won't shut-the-fuck-up!; Inoue Orihime, the kind, sweet, and somewhat oblivious orange-haired girl who cooked delicious food; her friend, Arisawa Tatsuki, the second-best martial artist in all of Japan; Honsho Chizuru, the red-haired lesbian that fondled Orihime whenever she got the chance; Kuchiki Rukia, the shinagami whom was training Kurosaki; and my old friend, Private First Class Kojima Mizuiro.

'Kurosaki however, is the enigma to me.' I thought as I began to dress myself in my standard attire: jeans, a white tee underneath a white dress shirt, and my red fingerless glove on my left hand. I grabbed my leather duster as I exited my apartment.

'He wears that damned mask every day, and he rarely responds to anything I say.' I mused. 'Ah well, his fault. Hopefully he'll get over his angst soon enough.'

I walked down the road at a leisurely pace, waving to people and admiring nature. A sudden jolt ran through my body, and I shivered violently, remembering that feeling just as somebody slid up to the right of me.

"Heh-hey Willy-Boy!" the teen called out, slapping me on the back, "Where you heading to brotha'?"

The teen was decked out in all olive green; olive green cargo pants, olive green blazer, olive green Converse. The only other colour on him was actually a shade, and was a white tee shirt, which was hiding underneath his blazer, the number six embellished three times on its back. He had brunette coloured hair, which was cropped in a military fashion, and electric blue eyes.

**23-8-1-20 : 23-1-19 : 8-9-19 : 14-1-13-5 : 1-7-1-9-14?**

You remember him well enough, you've fought with his father remember?

**9 : 4-9-4?**

Yes, remember Vietnam? Kravchenko? Fought with-

**1-8 : 25-5-19 , 9 : 18-5-13-5-13-2-5-18 : 14-15-23.**

Anyway, he's my best friend, Franklin Carter Woods Junior. I found him by accident at the beginning of the Civil War and saved him from death and he's been following me ever since. He arrived in Karakura three days ago in fact.

* * *

(_Rukia watched as Chad was hit with some of Shreiker's bombs and he fell down next to her, panting in pain. She glared at Shreiker, whom was gloating about how he lied to the soul that inhabited the parakeet in the cage at his feet, Shibata __Yūichi, about being able to bring his mother back and how he was now going to eat the three of them._)

(_'Ichigo, where are you!?' Rukia yelled in her head as Shreiker took a step forward, intent on eating her first. Before he could however, the screeching of tires on asphalt assaulted the group, and Rukia turned her head in pain to see an olive green 2009 Ford Mustang tearing down the street for Shreiker. He laughed, and continued to stalk towards Rukia and Chad before the Mustang plowed into him from the right, and crushed him in between the wall of a shop and the car itself, pinning his arms to his sides. Shreiker immediately began to try and free himself when gunshots began to ring out from inside the car. Rukia, Chad and Yūichi all watched intently as the front windshield tore open under the hail of gunfire, and bullets began pumping into Shreiker's body. After thirty seconds of continuous fire, the gunfire stopped, and Shreiker, screaming in pain, renewed his effort to free himself. While this was happening, the driver door opened up, and the driver stepped out. He was six feet tall at least, was wearing the uniform of a New Canadian Staff Sergeant, and was holding a SCAR-H assault rifle in his right hand._)

(_Dropping the rifle to the ground, he reached back into the Mustang to procure a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun, unfolded the stock, pumped it, aimed at Shreiker's head and began to fire all eight rounds into his mask. After the eighth shell was shot, Shreiker's mask exploded, opening the Gates of Hell just as Ichigo arrived on scene. When the Gates closed, the driver turned to the group and dropped the SPAS-12 as he raced over to them._)

(_"You guys alright?" he asked as he proceeded to lift Chad up while Ichigo helped Rukia._)

(_Chad thanked him as Rukia rounded on him. "Who exactly are you!?" She asked angrily, "How'd did you kill that hollow?"_)

(_The teen, as that was what he was, just grinned and bowed, "Staff Sergeant Frank Carter Woods Jr. at your services."_)

* * *

After that, Ichigo konso'd Yūichi to Soul Society, escorted Frank to me, dropped on my lap, said tip-top cheerio and Bob's your uncle! Frank was now my problem; again; for the seventeenth time. And I knew that from the feeling in the bottom of my stomach, today wasn't going to be any different with this Don guy. I friggin' hate his show!

* * *

AN: There we go! And reminder: FIGURE OUT WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN AND SAY! THEY'LL BE IMPORTANT LATER ON WHEN THE SS ARC BEGINS! *Koff* Ahem, danke. PEACE!


End file.
